The physical changes Im already seeing in my body blow me away. My always stubborn hamstrings are stretching more rapidly then they have even after several years of yoga; and I can do things I never expected (especially not in such a short amount of time). Last night I flipped from wild thing into Wheel Pose. Wha???

But, for me, this challenge has been a lifesaver for other reasons. I have always been proud of the fact that I was raised by my father. My mother was toxic and uninterested, and after they divorced when I was only 4, she didn’t want the job. Luckily for me (and my younger brother) my father volunteered. Many of you know that very unexpectedly, last September, just months past his 60th birthday my father passed away. Its been 6 months, and most days I still cannot comprehend what this means.

Up until this, yoga to me was a fun thing I enjoyed doing. I liked teaching it, I liked doing it, I liked having friends that would nerd out about it with me. But since my dad died, its changed profoundly for me. It’s become my sanctuary. It’s not that hard to practice every day for me because I need it now. And not just the asanas. The meditation, the delving deeper; the savasana. It’s where I can find some quiet to remember my dad; to find some peace, to dedicate my practice to the man who started it all.

Why share this? Because I am so grateful to have had this 100 day challenge come along at a time in my life where I didn’t just want to do it; but I needed to do it. So to all of you dedicating yourself to this; I say; Thank you.

What’s the best thing about a home practice? No trudging throughout the cold during the record making “polar vortex.” No having to get to the studio at a certain time. But there are also drawbacks. Like motivation. So I wanted to share the following resource with fellow yogis undertaking this challenge.

Yogaglo.com. I have been a user of this site for years now, and it’s awesome when you want to do home practice (or hotel practice). There are many different levels, styles, durations, teachers, and techniques. If you have 20 minutes and want some yin, they’ve got it. If you want some philosophy, its there. Arm balance crazy, Kathryn Budig is a teacher! It’s a steaming site so you can log on from you desktop or laptop, and there’s also an iPad app! It is a cost site, but at only $18 a month (less then the price of 1 yoga class at most studios), I think, totally worth it.

For those times over the next 100 days when we want to practice, but can’t or don’t want to get in to the studio.